Long Island Tourist Town Taken Over by Sandbags

Flood waters rising on Main Street in Port Jefferson, N.Y., on Monday.

Long Island’s north shore was bracing for a record storm surge midday Monday, as police closed off some streets and businesses piled sandbags at their doors.

In Port Jefferson, a village on the Long Island Sound with shops geared to tourists, the shin- and ankle-deep water had already swallowed parts of downtown as high-tide approached. Police officers closed off downtown with wooden barricades.

Some residents were already thinking about the economic ramifications of the flood damage.

“It is kind of alarming,” said Stephanie Engelmann, a 45-year-old school administrator who had walked downtown to watch the rising water. “I mean, look at all the poor businesses. It is alarming to see all the damage that’s going to happen to the businesses.”